"Did he rape his children’s babysitter?"

By Denver Pratt

February 12, 2018 03:39 PM

Updated February 13, 2018 08:53 AM

A teenage girl and her stepmother have lodged false claims of rape against a Bellingham businessman because they don’t like him, the attorney representing the man told a jury during his opening statement Monday.

Further, the attorney, David Allen, urged the jury to pay close attention to dates, citing the girl changed the timeline of events several times during the investigation.

Tyler Eugene Ryan, 37, who is accused of raping a teenage babysitter in 2015, is facing charges of one count each of second-degree rape by forcible compulsion, third-degree rape of a child and intimidating a witness.

When Ryan was originally charged in late July, he was an executive director of financial services at Multop Financial.

His trial, which is being heard by a predominantly female jury – eight women and four men – in Whatcom County Superior Court, is expected to last several weeks. Ryan is expected to take the stand in the coming days.

Allen said the teenager told several different stories of how she had been raped – first by a homeless man, then by a Squalicum High School student – to friends and family before disclosing it was Ryan who allegedly assaulted her.

It was after the girl told her parents that Allen said the girl’s stepmother played a game with her, telling the girl she knew she was raped by an adult.

Allen told the jury the stepmother gave the teenager a list of names and instructed her to nod when she said the name of the culprit.

The girl nodded when Ryan’s name was mentioned, but Allen said she did so because she knew her stepmother and Ryan didn’t get along.

Allen also called into question the girl’s timeline of events –she first reported the supposed rape taking place in fall 2015, when she was 13, but is now saying it took place in spring 2016, when she was 14.

Allen told the jury they would learn through witnesses, including an OB/GYN, the girl’s parents, and Ryan’s wife that the teenager’s story could not have happened. Testimony would show, Allen said, that while the Ryan family and the girl’s family were friends, there were issues between Ryan and the girl’s stepmother.

“At the end of this case you’ll not only be convinced that there are many substantial reasonable doubts, but that Tyler Ryan is the real victim and is innocent of all these very serious charges,” Allen said

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